Description
The authors utilized the technique of thermal ionization mass spectrometry on several coral samples obtained across the South China Sea (Huayang Reef ~8.86°N, 112.86°E, Parcel Islands ~16.3°N, 112°E, Hainan Island ~19°N, 110°E and the Lizhou Peninsula ~21°N, 110°E) in an effort to precisely date and determine historical sea level changes throughout the Holocene. Results indicated there were three phases of high sea level in this region over the past 7,000 years, the third of which took place between ~AD 720 and 1000 and corresponds with the "warm environments ... [of] the Medieval Warm Period" that the authors say were experienced in China during this time interval.